"Help! My
chickens can't figure out the Avian Aqua Miser. What should I do?"
I've
discovered that while 98% of chickens catch on right away, a few flocks
need some extra help learning to drink out of the Avian Aqua Miser
the first time. Here are some tips to hellp you out if you're in
the other 2%:
First,
make sure that
you follow the
introduction instructions to the letter. Take out the
previous
waterer the night before and leave the birds without water
overnight.
(This won't hurt your birds since they don't drink at night
anyway.) Then put in the Avian Aqua Miser when they're thirsty in
the morning. Read over our general FAQ
page for more information, or read the extensive instructions file
which comes on a CD with your order.
You
might want to hang
the Avian Aqua
Miser a little lower than I tell you to in the instructions for
the
first day. Make sure your chickens can actually see it, even if
that means they bump into it. You can always raise it up later
once they
learn.
On the
other hand, don't hang your waterer
too low. You don't want your chickens to have to crouch to
go under it.
If they
don't catch on
right away, start tapping the nipple
with your finger so that water drips out
onto the ground. Your chickens should be thirsty and looking for
water, so they'll find this drip and know water is nearby. Keep
up
your poking and they should find the nipple since they're attracted
to the color red. If one bird, especially your lead bird, catches
on, they'll all follow suit.
You can
also pour a
container of water
slowly over the top of the waterer. It'll spread out down
the
sides
and then drip from the nipple, attracting the chickens to that
point. When you stop pouring, they should keep drinking from the
nipple.
If your
chickens just
aren't getting it
and you have to leave them alone for the day, go ahead and take the
Avian Aqua Miser out and put their old waterer back in. Then try
again the next day (repeating all of the steps above), but be sure to
put fresh water in the Avian Aqua Miser! Chickens are very
good
at
telling the difference between old, stale water and fresh water.
Another
trick you can
try if you live
in a very hot location is to put ice
cubes in the water in your Avian
Aqua Miser. Chickens love cold water on a hot summer day and
catch
on pretty fast about where to get it!
Finally,
if you bought a
do it yourself
kit, make sure that you drilled a
hole in the lid of the waterer.
If
you didn't, the waterer will create a suction and your birds will be
unable to drink.
Returns:
I hope those tips work
out for you. If they don't, or if you just get impatient and
don't want to mess with it anymore, we have a no-questions-asked return
policy. Just drop me an email and
then mail your waterer
back to Anna Hess, P.O. Box 404, Dungannon, VA 24245. We
appreciate your patience!
